1997 Explorer EB SOHC AWD

[Dick Berg]

Looking for a replacement blend door for the EATC temperature control.
The non-EATC blend doors are readily available but not for the EATC.
I contacted Dorman and they only have the non-EATC blend doors. Dorman suggested "Heater Treater" (www.heatertreater.net), but when I contacted them they were no help, even suggesting that the blend doors are the same between the EATC and the non-EATC.
I'm going to cut open the plenum and try to glue all of the broken pieces together, but that may not work.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dick

 

[amj441]

unfortunately, it looks like that part is discontinued at least from ford, but hopefully the ford part number can help you find one.

F77Z-19E616-BA
ATC Blend door actuator

A/C doors listed

If this is the temperature blend door I HIGHLY SUGGEST you do NOT cut open the a/c box. my father cut into his to move his door and it never worked right, the car was always too hot or not warm enough. and the headache of finding something to plug the hole to get any air flow out the vents was hard.

You might have to pull the dash but the labor is worth it.

If you are looking for the flap/door itself, i believe its the same door. but dont quote me on that. best bet is to check a bone yard

 

[J_C]

^ AFAIK, lots of people have cut open the box, then resealed it with HVAC aluminum tape, without further issues. I think Dorman may even have a kit with the tape, but if it is different for the EATC version, I don't know about that.

 

[C420sailor]

If you pull the dash, spend the extra $50 or whatever and get a new heater core. Murphy is a real dude, and your heater core will begin to leak soon after you reinstall that dash.

 

[410Fortune]

Dorman makes a replacement blend door if your 97 door is broken

The eatc blend door
Motor can be opened and inside you will likely find a stripped
Nylon gear. You can use a gear from the new Dorman manual unit to fix your eatc unit

Also make sure you do a eatc self test and reset so it knows to look for a new actuator

Rockauto shows the eatc motor is still available

1997 FORD EXPLORER 4.0L V6 SOHC Heater Air Door Actuator | Shop Now at RockAuto

Heat & Air Conditioning Parts and More for Your 1997 FORD EXPLORER at Reliably Low Prices. Fast Online Catalog. DIY-Easy. Your Choice of Quality. Full Manufacturer Warranty.

www.rockauto.com

 

[Dick Berg]

All - Thanks for the responses.
Perhaps I wasn't clear that I'm only interested in the blend door, not the actuator which is OK.
As I noted, I contacted Dorman and they confirmed that they don't have a replacement blend door for the EATC, only for the non-EATC.
Regarding RockAuto, all of the blend doors that they show are identified for the non-EATC or manual temperature control.
The search continues.

Thanks again,
Dick

 

[410Fortune]

The blend door itself is exactly the same eatc or manual
The door itself is a big plastic flap

The Dorman replacement door fits all 95-01 trucks and 02-04 sports and tracs, even 98-11 rangers

The hvac box is exactly the same manual controls or eatc

You are over thinking this
If you blend door is broken then you need to either:

Pull the dash and replace entire hvac box with a later year (by 2000 the blend doors were much stronger)

Or

Cut the bottom of your hvac box and pull the broken door out install a new Dorman blend door

I have done this repair 20+ times in every way possible

 

[410Fortune]

1998 FORD EXPLORER 4.0L V6 SOHC Heater Air Door | Shop Now at RockAuto

Heat & Air Conditioning Parts and More for Your 1998 FORD EXPLORER at Reliably Low Prices. Fast Online Catalog. DIY-Easy. Your Choice of Quality. Full Manufacturer Warranty.

www.rockauto.com

Not sure why they show doors only working in manual control hvac boxes
I can tell you the replacement door fits both

The hvac box itself is identical manual hvac controls or eatc
The only difference is the blend door actuator

I like the gpd kit shown on that page comes with new door patch piece and template to show you where to cut

Notice how the gdp kit doesn’t list anything about eatc vs manual? That’s because a blend door is a blend door on these trucks